


Saving A Unicorn

by D_Morgenstern



Category: Original Work
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fantasy, Female Character of Color, Indian Character, Low Fantasy, Romance, Unicorns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-04 15:36:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3073193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_Morgenstern/pseuds/D_Morgenstern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Priya Misra learns why it's a bad idea to answer an ad in the breakroom that reads "Virgin wanted".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Priya Misra was certain that nothing amazing ever happen to her. She was the daughter of a cars salesman. She was the second daughter of her family. She was neither pretty nor plain. Her family had some esteem in their neighborhood, but they were not of a high caste. She was not witty or charming. She did not have leagues of admirers.

She was however intelligent. Her cleverness had saved her from naivety. She knew she couldn’t expect a prince to appear and drop happiness into her lap. Like anything else in this world, joy was to be earned.

Then her sister had made a disastrous and selfish choice. She had eloped with a man who had paid no dowry for he had nothing. She had forsaken the son of the man with the most land around the village. That young man would not have Priya after her sister’s rejection. He chose instead another woman. Priya lost her chance to ever attend college in the wake of her family’s disgrace. With no suitors, she left Sharmakonda to work at a call center until perhaps a prospect came along.

Every night she practiced the lingua franca of the world a hundred times over. Priya was not a passive person however. She saved nearly all of her earnings. One day she would see her hard work become something. An education. A great journey. She would never again depend on anyone for her happiness.

One day a brightly colored poster in the break room drew her attention.

“Virgin wanted” was a common start to a marriage advertisement but the bid was nothing of the sort. Instead the purveyor was looking for a virgin to hunt a rumored unicorn with. It was a laughable proposal of course, but the pay was not. It was three times what she would have earned from a night at work. Priya furrowed her brow as she considered the ad. She supposed this was not something any upstanding young woman would answer, hence why they had chosen to recruit from the call center. The corners of Priya’s mouth twitched.

She would do it. So long as no one from Sharmakonda ever found out.

She called the number the next day and met with her new business partner at a local cafe. He was actually a supervisor from the call center, and their meeting was clandestine. He brought along his mother for decency. He explained his family had once been magicians, and as times had changed they had become reduced to trading in magical properties. Apparently one of the most valuable items on this black market was unicorn’s horn. A rare specimen had been spotted in the local forest. For the last six months the men of his family had pursued it.

“But it escapes every net, outruns every dog, and we can’t even get it in our sights long enough to shoot it.” He sighed. “So we like to try something more _traditional_.”

Priya leaned forward in curiosity. “And you need a virgin for this?”

“It is said the unicorn comes to virgins. But I must warn you girl—if you are not, he will kill you.” The old woman warned. Priya felt a blush warm her cheeks.

“Worry after your own affairs!” she snapped and the man chortled.

“Well then, girly, if you are up to the challenge, meet me here on Friday at noon We’ll drive out from here.” He sighed.

“And I’ll get paid anyway even if your beast doesn’t appear, right?” Priya asked.

“Of course,” the mother bowed her head. Priya was bid a good day by them both. She sat in a daze for a few hours, not sure if she should laugh or feel very pathetic. Nevertheless there were worse ways to earn three nights’ worth of pay.

 

 

 

The way into the forest was rough and jarring. It was a hot and humid day, Priya’s t-shirt was a second skin. Her long skirt gave her little relief as she walked along the narrow paths into the very heart of the wild. Along with her contact and his mother they were joined by a few brothers and cousins. She wondered that they apparently had no virgins in their family. Then again the men were tense and nervous as they came closer to the beast’s purported feeding ground. _He will kill you._ They were truly afraid of what they hunted. Was it just better to expose a stranger to the danger?

_Idiots._ Priya frowned to herself. How much time has been wasted on what was probably a misidentified deer? How could people be so superstitious in this day and age?

At the top of a waterfall with a glimmering pool below, Priya was given her special assignment by the mother. She handed her a red lacquered jar.

“In that jar is a spell to bind the unicorn. You only get one chance.” The woman waved her finger. “You must imagine him weak and vulnerable. You, above all else, must not be afraid of him. If you imagine him as being undefeatable, he will be.”

“I understand.” Priya said. She had no expectation whatsoever to actually need to open the jar. She carefully climbed down the cliff to the pool that was supposedly the favorite of the beast. The family waited on the top of cliff with their nets and knives ready.

Priya took a seat along the shore and gratefully dipped her feet into the pool. The hours passed and Priya napped in the cool shade. She suspected the family had done the same.

And she awoke to a splash. Priya raised her head. She saw the arch of something descending. She quickly withdrew her feet from the pool. Had it been a large fish? She huddled on the shoreline and strained to see. She was met by the sight of an animal raising his head above the waterline, a single horn first vivisecting the waterline.

The head was like that of an ass, narrow with long ears. It had the flowing mane of a horse however and the long beard of a goat. It began to swim towards the shore and Priya backed away from the shore. It stepped out of the shallows. It had cloven feet like a deer and the delicate legs of that species. It was tall like a horse however, even with the tufted tail of an ass. It was not a beautiful creature but it was majestic and it moved with an uncanny grace. It had a fine white coat that shined in the warm sun.

His horn was more like a singular antler embedded in his forehead. It lead the direction of his gaze, cutting and precise. Priya’s retreat was stopped by the trunk of a Vijayasar. The unicorn narrowed his eyes and bared his fanged teeth. Priya inhaled sharply, recalling the warning that he would kill her if she was a liar.

_I am not! I am not!_ She willed for the beast to not slay her. They met eyes and his lips lowered. He remained distant, taking her in as much as she did him. It was strange, she liked being in his presence. She didn’t want him to leave. How many people had gotten to see such a blessed creature?

Their mutual reverie was interrupted by a whooping cry. A net descended from the sky. Priya screamed—she knew the magicians meant to kill this creature.

“No stop-!” She grasped the net in her hands as the unicorn began to buck and writhe to escape the ropes. Priya was shoved aside by some magician. The old woman pulled her to her feet.

“Don’t feel sorry for it!” she snapped. And as if to prove her point the unicorn managed to bite down on a man’s hand as he tried to reach for the horn through the net. There was a sickening crunch, and a burst of blood. The man fell to his knees with a cry as one of his kind desperately tried to staunch the bleeding.

“Use the spell! The spell!” She hissed and shoved Priya towards the snarling creature. His eyes were wide with rage as he tried to rend and tear her through his binds. Priya grasped the jar to her breast. But wouldn’t she also fight so viciously, if she knew she was about to be killed? And for what? So someone could make some money? She had never thought it really come to this!

No amount of wealth was worth murder.

_You must imagine him as weak and vulnerable._ If this spell worked according to her wishes, perhaps she could use it to save the unicorn.

“Assume a form that will save you!” she screamed. The unicorn paused in his struggling. At that moment Priya grasped the net and with all her strength threw it back towards the pool. The unicorn pitched backwards with the motion. The men scrambled to drag their prize back towards the shore. At that moment Priya opened the jar.

The unicorn disappeared into the water with a flash of light. The net was pulled back. It was found to be empty. Priya gave a small, breathless laugh.

“He got away!” she crowed. Her joy was short lived as she realized she was now surrounded by a group of angry men with knives.

“You meddling bitch-!” The supervisor lunged at her. Priya felt herself suddenly pulled into the pool. The water devoured her. She saw a man follow her descent with a knife drawn. From behind her an arm reached forward as the other arm grasped her waist. A hand wrapped around the man’s neck and squeezed. The water swallowed Priya’s scream as blood suffocated her as the throat was torn open by that one motion.

No one followed him. Priya was pulled even further down. She wondered if she was being drowned. She felt arms around her and dark hair brushed her face as a current pulled her further down. She realized she was being drawn through an underwater cave. Light suddenly flooded her vision as she was pulled to the surface.

Her lungs burned after her minute long brush with death. She collapsed on a shoreline within a cavern. Light spilled down from a hole in the roof of the cave. Priya gasped for several seconds and wondered if she hadn’t actually died. A pair of feet walked by her face.

She raised her head and a man looked down at her. His hair curled around his waist. His eyes were dark and penetrating. And between those eyes was a dark spot, almost like a port wine birthmark of a small star. He was not handsome, but he was distinguished and uncannily graceful. He frowned at her amazed stare.

“Hello. My name is Chandra. I am the guardian of this forest. You saved me.” He said in a deep and old voice.

And Priya knew then this was the unicorn she had saved.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The agreement.

Of course Priya had to set things right. She insisted on it. Though the unicorn appeared doubtful of her ability to really help him out of his situation.

“I am uncertain why that spell would give me this form, with the way you described it to me.” Chandra sat cross legged across from her. It was the most modest position he could assume as Priya had no clothes to give him. He shrugged, “this smaller form allowed me to escape the net, perhaps that is why.”

He mused over a thought for a second. “Unless the desires of a human virgin girl somehow shaped this body.”

Priya went red with indignation. “I was only thinking of saving your life! And don’t accuse me of being a pervert when _you_ only come to young virgins!”

“I certainly do not.” Chandra frowned.

“But you came to _me_ , and I was told you kill anyone who isn’t a virgin!” Priya snapped.

“I’d kill anyone who would _lie_ about who they are to get an exalted position. That is my right as a forest god.” The unicorn huffed. He narrowed his eyes. “Why would I care about who you have mated with? But I would not be lied to!”

Priya opened and closed her mouth and decided to drop the subject. As if the fact he existed at all was not enough. Priya slowly exhaled.

“However it happened—I am sorry, this was not my intent.”

“I believe you,” he said softly. “But I cannot remain in this form. I retain my powers but it is unsuitable for my duties. It cannot run swiftly through the grass or climb for days without being fatigued. Indeed I felt exhausted just swimming here.”

Priya bowed her head. And never mind the certain disquiet that must come from suddenly finding yourself in an unfamiliar body. Though she suspected the unicorn was too proud to admit to any sort of weakness.

“I promise, I will find a way to change you back. It may take a while though. In the meantime, I will help you however I can.”

“Don’t bother yourself.” Chandra sighed and Priya bristled at his certainty she could not help him. “You saved my life. I saved yours. We are even.”

“I will leave in the morning.” She told him. Chandra left her then. She looked away as he stood up and swam out of the cave. She supposed he had things to do. She was surprised when he returned about an hour later and dropped down wood and straw into the cavern. He rejoined her in the cavern with a fish in hand.

“You are my guest.” He told her. The wood was to build a fire. The straw to sleep on. The fish to eat. She thanked him and they spent the night in each other’s company. Priya could never fully look at him in his nudity but she often found herself meeting his eyes as he told her about the forest. He showed her the constellations that drifted by the open ceiling. He told her what creature was crying out in the darkness. He described the winding of the seasons and the thrill of the hunt.

She told him how she came to be in her pathetic position. How she had dreamed of being able to make her own happiness. He told her there was no greater strength in the world.

She was regret when she left. And he led her to the borders of the human lands. Since leaving home, she felt as though she had made a friend for the first time.

She was determined to save him. And happy at the thought of returning to him. These two things bound her to him far more strongly than any spell.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Priya and Chandra assumed their true forms.

It took her two years to acquire the skill and materials needed to craft the spell.

Fearful of leading the family of magicians back to the unicorn she quit her job at the call center. Priya relocated to the next village over and took a job at a bookstore. Her new employment did not pay as well as her other position but it afforded her far greater opportunities for research. Her savings dwindled as she bought rare books that eventually led to a spell that would give a creature whatever form he wished to wear.

The ingredients were not easy to find. More than one required an exhaustive trek into the forest to find that rare piece. Chandra taught her much about the lay of the terrain and how to us the sun and stars to find her way. She spent more time with him than anyone else. Nearly every day she visited him, to interpret some rare passage, or just to be near him. Not being a foolish person Priya knew she had fallen in love with him six months into her quest.

It was when he took ill in his human body. She had spent a week nursing him in the cavern where they had first met. She had missed work to stay near him. In her fear he would die before she could save him she knew she loved him. For even while fearing most she would lose him, she till worked to give him back his true form.

She knew he could never live as a human man. He had lived for hundreds of years in the forest and was intractably a part of it. He told her when he was ill that a forest without a unicorn died. The animals and tress all depended upon him. He was the keeper of their happiness. She could not ask him to be hers as well.

And why should he love a mortal woman? Especially as it was she who had gotten him into his predicament in the first place. Yet he soon no longer asked after her progress. He enjoyed their adventures together, but he stopped asking what they were for. Priya knew however if asked he would never leave the forest.

But perhaps, why should she not ask for the forest?

She turned down a marriage proposal from a local man. By the end of the two years she lived paycheck to paycheck, her arduously won savings gone. Her family grew distant to her. Yet she was the happiest she had ever been.

And one day she stepped into a shop to buy her final ingredient. She couldn’t have known the shopkeeper was a member of the magician family. She couldn’t have known they had been watching her progress all this time.

She couldn’t have known she was inciting a disaster.

 

 

 

“We just have to let it stew for a day.” Priya told Chandra as she hovered over the boiling pot. “And after that all you have to do is rub it into your skin while thinking of your true form.”

They were in their cavern together. Priya had long since made it much more comfortable since the day they had first met. There was a hammock in the corner. A battery operated fan and heater lived on a nightstand. All her rare books congregated in a case that stayed in an alcove that was well protected from the rain. Oil lamps lined the walls. She even kept several changes of clothes and many blankets in a trunk. Chandra always looked very neat in the kaftans she bought him.

“And I will be myself again.” He laid a hand on his chest.

“Yes.” Priya smiled. Chandra raised his head.

“And you’ll come to see me?” He asked softly. Priya paused and felt joy in her heart.

“Yes.” Why couldn’t she? Why couldn’t she spend her life with him? She had no great interest in sex. So why couldn’t she stay with a creature of the forest? What did it matter if he wasn’t a man?

And coming to her decision she felt a great peace in herself. Impulsively she kissed Chandra’s cheek. He blinked but returned the kiss. He met her lips. They kissed deeply. It was greater than anything she had imagined. Chandra stepped back but kept his hands on her hips.

“If I am a unicorn, I could not hold you like this.” He sighed. Priya only nodded. Chandra dropped his eyes. “We could not have children, either.”

Priya’s heart stopped to know he did feel the same way.

“Don’t make yourself miserable to make me happy,” she told him. He raised his face up and she beamed at him. “I love you however you are. You make me happy, Chandra.”

They kissed again and spent the night in each other’s arms. Priya was only overjoyed to find a man who understood that while she loved him more than anything, she had no need for sex. She wondered if Chandra had been as lonely as she, as he had looked for someone with this understanding.

Their tryst ended however with a great blaze of heat and smoke. A fire burned in the far corner of the cavern. It found fuel as grass and wood was thrown into its reach from above. Priya saw the forms of men along the rim of the ceiling and knew it could only be the magicians trying to smoke out Chandra. Priya hurriedly soaked two handkerchiefs in the pool and put them over her and his mouth.

“The potion! Priya, I have to!” Chandra yelled above the roar of the conflagration. Priya nodded, she knew whatever way they took they would be ambushed. The fire could have only been so the unicorn’s hand would be forced. He forced his hands into the boiling pot. He pulled them out with a scream. He fell onto the floor on all four legs. His clothes tore as his form again became the forest guardian. In the end, nothing remained of the man Priya had loved.

Chandra urged her to mount his back. She wrapped her hands in his mane and leapt onto his back. With her secure hold he climbed up the cavern walls in a series of leaps. They flew out of the burning smoke and over the heads of their assailants. Priya didn’t even feel them hit the ground as Chandra continued his bounding across the countryside. Then men could never hope to catch them. They probably had barely seen the flash of Chandra’s coat as he escaped them. Priya started laughing and her voice was swallowed up by the wind.

They didn’t stop until they had reached the very top of a mountain peak. Priya slipped off of Chandra’s back with a gasping laugh.

“We, we…” she paused as she realized Chandra was no longer by her side. She startled when a pair of human hands settled on her shoulders.

“I am going to be hunted for all my days. You too if you stay with me.” Priya glanced back only to have Chandra push her face forward. “Don’t turn around, you get so flustered when I’m nude!”

“How are you…” Priya gasped.

“Because….I still wanted to be able to hold you in my arms. This form…is as much a part of me as that of my birth.” Chandra said softly. He gently shook her shoulders. “Are you going to stay?”

“Yes. For I now feel as if this forest…is as much a part of me as the form of my birth.” Priya beamed.

For this day they had both been reborn.


End file.
